Notable Quotables:
Chiefs:
"They work hard and they're going to compete. They're tough guys. We're still early in the season; we're talking about the third week so you're not even a quarter done with the season. It's important that we continue to work and get ourselves better. These guys are wired to do that." -- Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on his 3-0 team.

Giants:
"Are we standing on the edge of the cliff? I don't look at it that way. I see a lot of football to be played." -- Head coach Tom Coughlin, who remains optimistic despite the team's 0-3 start.

The resurgent Kansas City Chiefs lead the NFL in turnover differential and sacks, and have relied upon an effective running game to get off to their second 3-0 start in a decade. They've also handled the NFC East so far, beating teams from that division in each of the last two weeks.

None of that appears to be good news for the winless New York Giants, who are coming off their worst performance under coach Tom Coughlin.

The Chiefs look to keep rolling when they face the desperate Giants on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Kansas City sacked Michael Vick six times, had five takeaways and rushed for 146 yards in a 26-16 win at Philadelphia last Thursday that marked a homecoming for coach Andy Reid, the Eagles' coach from 1999-2012.

The Chiefs have an NFL-best plus-nine turnover differential. They had a league-worst minus-24 mark last season.

"Points and turnovers are the two most important things that you have as a football team," Reid said. "If you turn the ball over you're losing football games, and if your takeaway ratio is high then normally you're winning. Those are two important stat points."

So is Kansas City's sack total of 15, with 7 1/2 of those coming from linebacker Justin Houston -- he had 4 1/2 last week -- to lead the league. The Chiefs managed 27 sacks for all of 2012.

Kansas City is also allowing only 309.0 yards per game, tied for eighth in the NFL.

"I think confidence starts from within," cornerback Sean Smith said. "If you're not confident in the way you prepare and work and study, I don't know what to say about you. But our confidence started back in OTAs and minicamps. We knew we've had something special here for a long time."

Running back Jamaal Charles is coming off his best game of the season, rushing for 92 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries last week.

The Chiefs' encouraging numbers don't seem promising for a New York team that's done hardly anything well during its 0-3 start. The Giants are tops in the league with 13 turnovers, have allowed 11 sacks, are last in the NFL in rushing at 44.3 yards per game and are giving up an average of 129.3 yards on the ground.

They turned in the worst performance of Coughlin's 10-year tenure last week in a stunning 38-0 loss to Carolina, which came in winless. Eli Manning was sacked seven times and hit numerous others, and the Giants were outgained 402-150.

"We have to play better," Manning said. "We have to have greater energy, greater enthusiasm, play better, better technique, decision making. There are some plays out there that we left on the field, and sometimes we just got flat-out beat. It's not a big surprise what we have to do to fix it. We just have to go out there and play better football."

That may have to start with the banged-up and patchwork offensive line, which has been almost completely ineffective so far. Starters David Baas and Chris Snee are out, leaving the relatively inexperienced Jim Cordle and James Brewer as their likely replacements.

Some rare Giants discord also surfaced during the week, with receiver Hakeem Nicks complaining about not being able to throw the ball to himself. Coughlin subsequently criticized him for the comment.

"Once you get to pointing the finger, you get that cancer in the locker room like that, it can fall apart easy," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "You can't do that. This is a team game. We come into every week, every game, as a team, we leave every game as a team. We win or lose as a team together."

Kansas City may also be benefiting from Reid's familiarity with his former NFC East foes. The Chiefs defeated Dallas in Week 2, and Reid won seven of the last nine matchups with the Giants while with the Eagles.

"There is no time to relax on what you have done, you just have to continue to build and get better," Reid told the team's official website. "We have so many things that we can get better at. ... It's crazy, and so, we are going to do that."

One of those areas is pass protection, which could be key with the Giants looking to get their usually vaunted pass rush going this week. New York, tied for last in the league with three sacks, will be facing a Kansas City club that's allowed Alex Smith to be sacked 10 times, among the most in the NFL.

The Chiefs haven't started 4-0 since opening with nine straight victories in 2003. The Giants last dropped their first four games during an 0-5 start to 1987.

New York has won four straight in the series and took the last meeting 27-16 at Arrowhead on Oct. 4, 2009.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) looks to pass under pressure from Carolina Panthers' Charles Johnson (95) during the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.

When the Chiefs runEDGE >> CHIEFSThe Chiefs had a tough time running against both the Cowboys and Eagles until it mattered most, in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs iced the Dallas win by using the running game to run out the clock, and they clinched the Philadelphia game with a 15-play drive with Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis running effectively. Still, Charlesí long run for the season is just 18 yards. The Giants rank 27th against the run, and they had few answers last week for Carolinaís DeAngelo Williams, who carried 23 times for 120 yards.
When the Chiefs passEDGE >> CHIEFSAlex Smith completed passes to seven different receivers at Philadelphia and seems to have found his go-to guy in Donnie Avery, who caught seven passes for 141 yards. Smith completed just one pass that went beyond 10 yards in the air ó to Avery on a big third-and-10 that sustained the final, fourth-quarter drive ó but the receivers are making big yards after the catch. Dwayne Bowe has caught just nine passes for 90 yards, and that has to pick up. The Giantsí once-fearsome pass rush is a shadow of what it once was. They have just three sacks in three games.
When the Giants runEDGE >> CHIEFSThe Giants rank dead last in rushing, largely because their offensive line is in shambles because of injuries and partly because they have trailed from the get-go in all three of their games. David Wilson, a first-round pick in 2012, leads the Giants with 75 yards in 25 carries. The Giantsí 60 yards rushing at Carolina was a season-best, but half of that came long after the game was settled. The Chiefs rank 25th against the run after allowing the Eaglesí LeSean McCoy to run for 158 yards in 20 attempts, a 7.9-yard average. But McCoy may be the best back the Chiefs see all season.
When the Giants passEDGE >> GIANTSWhen QB Eli Manning is upright, he can be dangerous hooking up with Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. But Manning already has been sacked 11 times, compared to 19 times all of last year. And he has been hit another 22 times. Thatís led to an NFL-most eight interceptions. The Chiefs, meanwhile, lead the NFL with 15 sacks, including a league-most 7 1/2 by Justin Houston, who could have a field day against rookie tackle Justin Pugh. If Brandon Flowers canít play or isnít 100 percent, that will be affect the press coverage the Chiefs like to play.
Special teamsEDGE >> CHIEFSQuintin Demps got the Chiefs off to a good start at Philadelphia by returning the opening kickoff 57 yards, a trend that began in the preseason. Punter Dustin Colquitt and kicker Ryan Succop continue to dictate field position. Colquitt has now buried an NFL-most 13 of his 21 punts inside the 20, and Succop has 11 touchbacks while making five of seven field goals. The Giantsí kicking game hasnít done anything special this season, and Josh Brown missed a 38-yarder at Carolina that would have at least prevented a shutout.
CoachingEDGE >> CHIEFSGiants coach Tom Coughlin has won two Super Bowls, and coupled with how he took Jacksonville to an AFC championship game in the franchiseís second year, heís likely headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But rallying this aging team might be Coughlinís biggest challenge. Andy Reidís knowledge of the Giants, from having played them twice a year for the past 14 regular seasons, cannot be minimized. Reid owned an 11-8 mark, including two playoff wins, against Coughlin, who took over the Giants in 2004.
X-factorEDGE >> CHIEFSThereís little question that turnovers ó or lack of them ó explain why the Chiefs are 3-0 for the second time since 2003 and the Giants are 0-3 for the first time since 1996. The Chiefs have created nine turnovers without committing a turnover for an NFL-best differential. The Giants are minus-nine, tied with Pittsburgh for the worst differential. The Chiefs and Tennessee are the only teams not to have turned the ball over this season. Points off takeaways, including two interception returns for touchdowns, have accounted for 30 of the Chiefsí 71 points this season, or 42.3 percent.
Bottom lineHard to believe a team that was 2-14 has the edge in so many categories over a team that won the Super Bowl year before last, but these two are going in opposite directions. Factor in an Arrowhead crowd ready to burst since its team last played 10 days ago, and the Chiefs should get to 4-0 for the first time since 2003. They better not forget to wear the red pants.
Prediction: Chiefs 27-23
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/28...#storylink=cpy

09-29-2013, 09:09 AM

iratefan

omg i dont have to stream this game for once! great overview, cant freakin wait to watch it.

09-29-2013, 11:16 AM

kcvet

its NYC. i don't just wanna win i wanna stomp their livin' guts out and rip out their spine. and make ESPN stand there with 2 black eyes, a dirty face and spittin grass. a total humiliation !!!!